Cookies & Compost = Yummy Deliciousness

Huh?

Say what?

Yup...cookies and compost equal some pretty darn yummy creations...especially when that creation is from the uber-renowned NYC restaurant Momofuku.  Ok, so it's not really compost per se, but basically you take whatever you have on hand and throw it into this cookie.

This is actually the cookie that you saw my kids were sharing.  That cookie was out of pure laziness since I ran out of room for the initial shaping & chilling stage of the cookie and dumped it into a bowl.  I then proceeded to dump said bowl onto the cookie sheet & baked it as is.  Yeah, I'm lazy a rebel like that.

For our cookies, I threw in chocolate, peanut butter, & butterscotch chips:

Ok, yes, that's quite normal...so here's where we make it interesting:

See that?  That, my friends, is a melange of pretzels, Oreos, potato chips, & coffee grounds...and yes, it all goes in the cookies.  I know I made my sister throw up a little in her mouth when I mentioned my add-ins.  Whoops.

But, if you're a person who likes sweet & savory creations, give this a try!  Christina Tosi, pastry chef of the Momofuku restaurants and David Chang, chef/owner/culinary bad-a$$ of the Momofuku restaurants serve this cookie in the Momofuku Milk Bar.  His other Momofuku restaurant Momofuku Ssam Bar was named of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World.  David has been nominated/won several James Beard awards over the years and was one of Times 100 Most Influential People for 2010...plus he's a DC native...whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.  His cookbook Momofuku was released last fall.

My friend Linda, a fellow foodie and restaurant owner tipped me off to these bad boys.  You can find the recipe here.  Christina Tosi was on "Live with Regis & Kelly" showing how to make them.  On that segment one of the things they used was Goldfish crackers...I'm adventurous, but I'm not sure I could use those.  Anyhoo...if you have a stand mixer, you're in luck...'cause these bad boys need a total of 10 straight minutes of butter/sugar beating!  Also, definitely follow the chilling time.  I actually chilled mine at least overnight and even waited the 36 hours as recommended by Shirley Corriher when making cookies.  Ooh and my last rec would be to use the coffee grounds (which I used fresh coffee grounds and I've seen as used, dry grounds)...they lend a depth to the cookie which is ridiculous!

Again, find the recipe here and ENJOY!

Moving...

I am the author of 3 blogs.

3.

Why?

Well, I started our family blog for the obvious.  Being a military family away from friends and fam, I started it to keep everyone updated.  Except, I failed to realize that also being a military family, you run into slumps...most noticeably when you're a "single married spouse/mom" (SMS/M) and/or the computer is in a different room on a different floor in your house away from your kids.  Also, when I have the time to blog, I'd rather spend it with my husband with whom I've probably spent 1/2 of our relationship actually being in his physical presence.  I also didn't want to clutter our family blog with my own personal stuff since well, it's our family blog.

Besides my family, my passion is cooking and eating.  So, I started this blog.

Since I'm starting to lose steam, time, and energy on giving the appearance of maintaining three...I'm going to simplify and put everything on my personal blog...except I'll still double post so any foodies won't have to read my ramblings & babblings...except in my food posts.

So, I guess I'm not really moving, am I?

Oy vey.

Italian Wedding Soup...chickenized.

Dear Ina,

I have but one request...

Will you marry me?

Love,
Tan

Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa) has never let us down.  We've been having crazy up and down weather.  Like...really, really, ridiculously crazy temperature changes.  Today we should get into the 90s but yesterday we were in the 60s...but the day before in the upper 80s and the day before that in the lower 60s.  I think you get it.

I've been dying to try the Italian Wedding Soup out of her Back To Basics cookbook.  I've made my own before, but what I had to try was her meatball recipe.  Girlfriend makes a chicken meatball...1/2 ground chicken & 1/2 Italian chicken sausage.

So, I did...and to marvelous reviews and loud slurping.  Another successful Ina creation!

On a side note, make sure you don't buy cooked Italian sausage.  I, of course, being so careful & meticulous would never run through Trader Joe's after not finding chicken sausage in the military commissary, find Italian chicken sausage in TJs, do a quick celebratory dance, load up on many non-essential TJ items, & waltz through check-out.  I would check the item carefully and make sure that I was getting an uncooked meat item since it was to be mixed up with other raw meat and only get what I needed and then check-out

But, since Mama loves her Vita-mix, you can be darn sure that I ground up that cooked sausage and mixed it in with the raw chicken...FABULOUS.

ENJOY!!!!!!

From Tanya Eats

Tyler Florence's Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumber, and Cilantro

A while back I published a post on buttermilk chicken tenders which were inspired by Tyler Florence's Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumber, and Cilantro. I've used a bunch of Tyler's recipes straight from Food Network...but never bought his book. Why? I dunno...since every recipe I tried was fabulous. I had every one of Ina's but none of Tyler's. So, this Xmas/birthday I received 4 of his books and loving all of them!

I promised Melissa that I would post the recipe. I omitted the red pepper flakes since the kiddos don't tolerate heat so well. Also, I would start with LESS than 1/4 soy sauce and add more to taste...or use less-sodium soy. We served up our's with a side of Momofuku Ginger Scallion noodles...mmmmmmmm.

So, without further ado...

Tyler Florence's Sesame Chicken Salad with Spinach, Cucumber, and Cilantro

from Tyler Florence (Tyler's Ultimate)

Brie Puffs

I had long promised my dear friend Dharms that I would pop over to her friend's sister's blog and check it out.  I did but didn't go back for a while...not for any particular reason other than Mommy Brain.  So, when I did check it out...I was so glad I did.

Not only are there a bunch of recipes I'm excited to try...but, I found these bad boys JUST in time for Mom's 60th!  Brie Puffs...frikkin' genius...and oh-so-yummy!!

I didn't print out the recipe but Kim & I managed to knock it out really quickly.  These puppies are easy, delicious, and a super fabulous addition to any party!  Our version was just good ol' plain apricot preserves.  I can't wait to try other combos like a berry preserve or other types of yumminess.

Check out the recipe over at Sonal's blog.

Mom's 60th...pre-party

Apparently I didn't get the memo that my mom's impromptu birthday party wasn't a dessert party.

Nonetheless...in 24 hours I have made for the party:

Cashew Caramel Cookies

Oatmeal Applesauce Cookies

Sugar Cookies

Apple Cherry Crumb Bars

Coconut Cake (for the birthday girl)

Special Dark Chocolate Cake & Semisweet Choco Ganache

Oh, and marinated chicken wings...'cause I guess we don't want the guests going into sugar overload.  ;o)  I'll also be making a kale salad too.  Mmmmmmmmmmm...kale.

But back to the diabetic-coma-inducing menu I'll also be trying out Michelle's Panipopo which are Samoan Coconut Buns.

The best husband ever got me my new camera...so, I'm hoping there will be some pics to post after this weekend!

Mango Lassi

Hello Mango Lassi,

We love you.  

Like really, really ridiculously love you.

Seriously.

Love,

Tanya's Kids

Let's make whoopie...

whoopie PIES, that is.

Sicko.

Dude...joooooooooking.

Anyhoo...I somehow managed to include my fairly brand-new copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book with my library books and didn't catch the goof until a few weeks later.  Of course, a brand new cupcake book will not stick around long and lo & behold...I had to get a new copy.

So, with the order of my 2nd copy I also had to order a buddy for it...Martha Stewart's Cookies.

Since the hubby is nearing the end of his current sea tour (department head tour), I've made it a goal to bake something everyday for his last week.  Except, his last week was supposed to be last week and here we are.  With that being said, I've taken time off here and there.

Last night, however, peanut butter whoopie pies.  I'm not a fan of chocolate but chocolate and peanut butter has always been a favorite flavor combo of mine.  This recipe is no exception.

Of course I read correctly and saw that I needed to drop the cookie batter in 1.5 TABLESPOONS and not the 1.5 TEASPOONS that I did.  Whoops.  So, I *did not* manage to make almost 4 dozen whoopie pies for my husband to take to the submarine...which were gone apparently 10 minutes after he arrived onboard.

With that being said, it's off to plan what will be his final treat of his final day of being the Weapons Officer on the USS TN.

ENJOY!!

Buttermilk Chicken Tenders

I. Love. Fried. Chicken.

But, guess what?

Besides french fries (from the *gasp* BAG)...I can't fry worth a damn.

But, guess what?  Panko crumbs make EVERYTHING better.

Over the weekend we were trapped inside the house due to the winter storm that swept through the mid-Atlantic.  I believe that was a biggest snow storm this area has received in a long time.  Anyhoo...after making Tyler Florence's Crispy Sesame Chicken & Spinach Salad a couple of weeks back (which I still have to post), I still had a major hankering for fried chicken tenders.  My hankering deepened after my friend Melissa posted a blog entry about healthy chicken nuggets.  But, I wanted to be bad...so bad.  I wanted oily, greasy, not-as-good-as-baking-it-in-the-oven-coated-in-ground-oatmeal-flax-wheat-germ chicken tenders.  

So, I marinated some breasts for several hours...then made them and enjoyed the silence of ravenous carnivores horking down some good arse chicken.

I love you greasy food.

Oh lovely...

BRUSSEL SPROUTS!!!

What is NOT to love about these bad boys?  I didn't grow up with them since my mama didn't like them...but then my sister & I tried some roasted ones at TJs and it was love at first bite.  So, we've been hooked ever since and there is something about these little buggers that are ADDICTIVE.

The Hubs was a non-sprout eater too...but now eats them straight out of the pan!  Our daughter absolutely loves them and even Mr. Picky will eat them (although since it is still technically a veggie, there is a little less enthusiasm coming from that portion of the table).  Even dear Mama who didn't like sprouts likes these too!

Anyway, these bad boys couldn't be any easier to prepare.

Yakisoba

Need something quick & easy when you're in a pinch? I've got your answer...yakisoba. All you've got to know is how to saute/stiry-fry up ome meat (optional) and veggies and you're good to go.

How?

Because this little bad boy has all you need...

Yup. DIrections & sauce packet...you add the stuff...if you want.

I don't always want to cook...but sometimes going out is A) unhealthier than eating something quasi-processed @ home and B) cheaper. Girl can't always be so healthy and fresh...sometimes...you just have to cheat....sometimes. Ok, rarely...

So, here's the skinny...

Chop up veggies...I had napa cabbage, julienned carrots, sliced onions, and frenched green beans. Throw it in a pan and cook momentarily. You don't want to cook the veggies all the way through or else they'll become mushy...unless that's what you're into...then, by all means, go for it. Take veggies out and set aside.

Take some meat...ground, sliced, cubed...whatever type and whatever cut you want. Marinate that bad boy in a little bit of soy sauce, minced garlic, ground black pepper, and a touch of sesame oil. Brown it up in some olive oil (or neutral oil if you prefer). Put with veggies that have set aside.

Cook the noodles according to direx. Use caution when using the seasoning mix since it could be way too much. You can always add more later. Throw meat/veg mixture in.

Enjoy!